This invention provides a quality white or other color light that can be used during operation of MRI equipment. This quality white or other color light can be dimmed to provide flexible lighting levels. The flexible lighting levels can range from the maximum light used for patient procedures and equipment servicing/maintenance to the lowest light level used to keep a patient comfortable while facing upward on the MRI scanning table.
Moreover, by using a thermally-conductive substrate printed circuit board, this invention resolves the thermal issues associated with the high-intensity light generated by multiple LED's. The thermally-conductive printed circuit board consists of an aluminum plate that is selectively coated with an electrical insulator (coating remains only where the electrical circuits will be formed) and then forming the electrical circuits using what is known as “fully additive” circuit processes. Thus, the aluminum substrate printed circuit board creates an isolation layer and, then, a conductive layer. These layers isolate the LED's electrically, but not thermally, from the heat sink. The aluminum plate provides a direct thermal connection to the high-intensity LED components.
The lighting level issues are resolved by the incorporation of a reflector around each LED and a diffuser lens located at the light fixture's opening. This combination makes the light softer, as well as more uniform and even. This combination also protects the user and installer from electrical hazards associated with the potentially high voltages within the light fixture itself.
To date, no one has created such an MRI-compatible lighting system, and no other manufacture offers an LED lighting system for use in conjunction with operating MRI equipment.